Bosnian Refugees in America: New Communities, New Cultures

Judith Owens-Manley, PhD., Hamilton College Associate Director for Community Research for the Levitt Public Affairs Center, has co-authored a book with Reed Coughlan, PhD., titled "Bosnian Refugees in America: New Communities, New Cultures" published by Springer Verlag in October.

This book is based on the results of a research project that focused on the lives and experiences of a sample of 100 Bosnian families in Utica, an upstate New York community. It tells the story of the psychological, socio-cultural and economic adaptations of the Bosnian refugees to this community, the effects of the trauma of war, the cultural differences and dislocation that are a part of the experience, the strategies employed for successful adjustment and the obstacles still faced in reconciling personal hopes and dreams.

The book also explores how a community best responds to new arrivals, particularly to people who are ethnically and culturally different, and the implications of how these people adapt and adjust optimally themselves. The final chapter offers suggestions for working with refugees in the years following resettlement.